Graining machine



Y Jan. 31, 1933. A. F. JONES GRAINING MACHNE 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 ruledApril 3. 1926 [22 venia? w;

Jan. 3l, 1933. A. F. JoNEs 1,895,512

GRAINING MACHINE Filed April 5. 192e s sheets-sheet 2 Sec sa InzfenofJan. 31, i933. A F, JONES 1,895,512.

GRAINING MACHINE Filed April 3, 1926 5 Sheets-Sheet 5 100 4 a 90 8 8 8O2Q/y l 1 0 mwvm/VWAVA'AM I la l Patented Jan. 31, 1933 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFIC ALBERT F. JONES, OF SALEM, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO THETUR-NER TANNING MACHINERY COMPANY, OF PORTLAND, MAINE, A CORPORATION OFMAINE GRAINING Application filed April 3,

This invention relates to machines for operating upon hides, skins andleather and is illustrated as embodied in a machine for softening andboarding or graining skins or other relatively thin or light pieces ofleather, although in various respects the invention is not restricted toembodiment in a machine of the illustrated type or to use in performingthe particular operations just referred to.

lu machines as heretofore constructed for the purpose of boarding orgraining pieces of leather considerable difficulty has always beenexperienced in maintaining the machine parts in such relation to eachother and to the. ivor r that the folded portion of the Work is properlypositioned With respect to the boarding instrumentalities. ln one Welll-:noivn com nercial machine this difficulty is due, in part at least,to an uneven Wearing array of the edge of a thin met-al Work-presentingmember in such a Way as to make uniform presentation of the Workdiliicult, if not impossible, with the result that the quality of Workperformed is not infrequently belou7 the desired standard. In anothertype of boarding machine there is provided a single Work-presenting orWork-supporting member for cooperation With a rotary boarding member.one of the members having a recipro-catory movement one stroke of whichis idle. The operator must not lonly Wait for the. completion of theoperation in a given cycle of the machine but he must also remove thepiece of Work just operated upon before introducing a fresh piece ofWork. FurtherV more, maciines of this type are difficult to operate insuch a Way as to secure uniformity and maintain the desired quality ofWork since there is provided no means for determining the relationshipof the boarding members with respect to each other and to the Work atthe initiation of a. graining or boarding operation nor is there meansinvariably eective for preventing displacement of the Work.

in vievv of the foregoing' it is an object of the present invention toprovide an improved machine for softening and graining orboardingleather Which will be simple in construction, especially effective inproducing Work of MACHINE 1926. Serial No. 99,549.

uniformly high quality, and capable of a substantially increased outputWhen compared with previous machines.

To this end and in accordance with important features of the inventionthere is provided for co-operation with a boarding member a work supporthaving an inclined surface portion of substantial construction forcol-operation With the boarding member in forming a fold in eachsuccessive piece of Worlr on the Work support thus initiating boardingoperations on the pieces of Work, the boarding operation being completedthrough co-operation of the boarding member and a plane surface portionon the Work support. yhus, there is employed no thin-edged Workpresenting member to Wear away irregularly and to become inefficient asin certain prior constructions. For insuring against displacement of theWork with respect to .the boarding member and wor-lr support and forsecuring uniformity in the positioning of the folded portion of the Workin respect to the boarding member there is provided in the illustratedmachine as a part of the Work support a clamping member operativetemporarily to secure the Work to the Work support. In the preferredarrangement means is provided for operating the clamping member to causeclosing and opening thereof to clamp and to release each piece of Workat the proper time Without effort or attention on the part of theoperator. Conveniently, the inclined surface provided for initiating theboarding operation in co-operation With the boarding member is locatedon the clamping member Which, in closed position, becomes part of theWork support.

For facilitating presentation of the Work in graining or boardingoperations there is provided a plurality of Work supportingV membersmoving in succession to boarding position and presenting new Work asfast as each preceding piece is boarded. Conveniently, the arrangementof Work supporting members is such that they move continuously Withoutinterruption to Work receiving position Where a slrilled operator hasjust time suflicient to position a piece of Work on each supportingmember'in turn before it moves on to boarding or graining position. Inthe illustrated machine, the work supporting members are carried by anendless belt or conveyor and the clampfng member associated with eachwork supporting member is operative automatically during the travel ofthe work supporting member to close upon the work temporarily to securethe work to the work support and subsequently to release the work on thesupporting` member.

These and other features of the invention and novel combinations ofparts will be now described in detail and pointed out more particularlyin the appended claims.

ln the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a view in side elevation of a. machine illustrating oneembodiment of the invention;

Figs. 2 to 5 inclusive are detail views of the work support illustratingsuccessive steps in the positioning of the work on the support while thework support is reversing its position;

Figs. 6 and 7 are similar views of the work support in connection with arotary member illustrating the operation of boarding or grainingleather;

Fig. 8 is a section on the line VIII-V111 of Fig. 1, looking in thedirection of the arrows;

9 is a bottom plan view of the work support and clamp on line X-IX ofFig. 8;

Figs. 10, 11 and 12 are detail views illustrating the opening of theclamp to release the work from the work support; and

Figs. 13 to 17 inclusive are detail views illustrating the closing ofthe clamp to secure the work temporarily to the work support.

In the illustrated machine there is provided a plurality of worksupports or work supporting tables 2O of identical constructionpivotally secured to a pair of endless chain members 22, (Fig. 8) eachcomposed of relatively long links 2li, as most clearly shown in Fig. 1of the drawings. The chains 22 are mounted at each end upon sprocketwheels, one pair of which is shown in Fig. 1 at 26, carried by shafts 28and 30, the shaft 30 being mounted in boxes 82 carried slidably by theframe of the machine so that they may be adjusted by means of a threadedmember 3l to secure proper tension of the chains 22. Each work support2O is provided with brackets 36 (Figs. 8 and 9) secured to its undersurface by which the support may be pivotally connected to links of thechains 22 at the pivotal points connecting the links. At the point ofconnection between the links 2e and the brackets 36 the links areprovided with rollers l() which are adapted to contact with guidewaybrackets Ll2 provided on inwardly projecting flanges il and l5 of theside frames of the machine. 1t will be understoodV that the brackets 42serve as guideways for both the upper and lower runs of the chains andalso as supports for the work supports 20 particularly when the worksupports are operating to present the work to the work operating member,as will be hereinafter described.

For co-operating with each work support 20 in succession in graining orboarding operations upon aV piece of leather on the work support, thereis provided in the illustrated machine a rotary boarding member 50mounted upon a shaft 52 carried by a pair of lever arms, on-e of whichis shown at 54 in Fig. 1 of the drawings. This lever arm 54- ispivotally mounted at 56 in an upwardly extending portion 58 of the sideframe of the machine. Carried by an extension 60 of the lever 54 is arweight 62 which may be adjustably secured in any desired position alongthe length of the extension 60 so as to counterbalance to a greater orless extent the boarding member 50 on the opposite side of the pivotalmounting 56 and thus become effective to vary the pressure exerted bythe boarding member 50 upon work supported on any work support 20. Forlimiting downward movement of the boarding member 50 toward the table20, there is provided at the rear end of the lever 54 a. set screw @l bywhich the boarding member 50 may be adjusted in accordance with variouscharacteristics of the work such, for instance, as density andthickness. The cylindrical surface of the boarding member 50 is coveredith cork composition to provide a uniform frictional surface which willengage the leather to be grained frictionally without injury to thelatter.

Means is provided for rotating the boarding member 50 in a directionreverse to that of the movement of the work support past the boardingmember, the means for rotating the member being also operative toproduce a peripheral speed which is exactly equal to the rate ofmovement of the work past the boarding member. For this purpose theshaft 52 of the boarding` member 50 carries a sprocket wheel (Fig. 1)about which passes a sprocket chain 72, the other end of which passesaround a sprocket 7 4l on the shaft 28, the purpose of the sprockets andchain 72 being to insure that there will be no slippage between theboarding roller 50 and th shaft 28, from which the chains 22 of the worksupports 2O are driven. Power is supplied to the shaft 28 by means of atrain of gears leading from the shaft 7 6, to which is secured the powerpulley 78.

Since the work supports 20 are identical in construction a descriptionof one will suffice for all. Upon reference to Figs. 2 to 9 inclusive ofthe drawings, it will be observed that a work support 2O comprises abody member or table 80 and a clamping member 82 each provided at theirwork clamp surfaces with a piece 84 of felt, although other firmlyyielding material may obviously be found equally effective. The purposeof these felt members or pieces 811 is to engage lirmly but yieldinglywith a piece of leather whereby pieces of leather of various thicknessesare firmly clamped against the table 80 and held against displacementbut without injury while the leather is undergoing a` grainingoperation. As shown, the clamp 82 is provided with an inclined surface86 which is conveXly curved so that the boardingl member 50 engages withthe piece of work on this convex surface without injury to the Work andin such a way as to move it over the surface into overlapping relationto another part of the same pi-ece of leather', as indicated by theshowing in Figs. 6 and 7 of the drawings. r1`his inclined surface is soproportioned as to insure initial engagement of the member 50 with thework always at a predetermined line in advance of the plane 8T whichpasses vertically through the table and through the axis 52. ln thiswaythe travelling fold 69 in the work is always in advance of the line ofgreatest pressure on the work whereby suflicient frictional engagementof the member 50 with tie work is secured to insure proper travel of thefold. For mounting t ie clamp member 82 on the table 60 there isprovided in the construction shown a pair of arms 8S (Figs. 9 to 1Tinclusive) secured to the clamp member 80 by means of screws, the armsSS being slidable in guideways provided by metal plates 90 (Fig. 9)secured to the body of the table S0. Fivoted t0 one end of each arm 88,as at 92, is a link 94 in turn pivoted to a link 96 pivctally mounted at98 upon the edge of the table 80. Connected to the pivot pin 92 is aspring 100 which at its other end is connected to a pin 102 rigid withthe table S0 or with the guide member 90 carried by the table. that eacharm 8S is connected by links 94 and 96 and by a spring 100 to the table60 and that the description of the connections for one arm 86 appliesequally to the other arm 8S. Carried by each link 94 adjacent to itspivot connection with the link 96 is a stud 10i provided with a roller106, the purpose of which will be hereinafter described. Referring toFigs. 9 and 12 of the drawings it will be observed that in both figuresthe clamp member 82 is in open position with respect to the table 80 andthatin these figures the links 94 and 96 constituting a toggle aresubstantially in line with each other and with the arms 88. 1f the link96 be turned on its pivot 98 until it is in reversed position, bylifting upwardly on the roller 106 and moving it about the pivot 98 ofthe link 96 until the link 96 has been moved slightly beyond center intocontact with a stop 106, then the clamping member 82 has 1t will beunderstood.

been moved to closed or clai'nping position. The arrangement is thensuch that the clamp 82 is in firm contact with the adjacent felt coveredend of the table 80. ln this position of theclamping member 82 10) thespring 100 is extended and is under tension and operates to hold theclamping member in position since the link 96, as already stated, hasmoved beyond center and is in contact with the stop 108. Figure 1 showsthe beginning of the movement by which the clamping member 82 isreleased for movement to open position. At the rear end of the machinethere is provided at each side of the frame thereof a cam member 110(Figs. 1 and 10) having an inclined cam surface 112 upon which theroller 106 slides whereby the roller is forced gradually upwardly, asindicated in F 11 until the tension of the spring 100 suddenly snaps thelink 96 over to the about its pivot point 96. Thus, the clamping' member62 is moved to open position and the work may be readily removed fromthe table 60 at this discharge station at the rear end of the machine.

Buring continued movement of the chains 22 and of the tables 20 thelatter are successively carried along the under side of the low-erflanges 45 so that the tables 60 and clamping members S2 in turn projectfrom the front end of the machine in the position indicated in Fig. 13of the drawings. When a table and clamping` member reach this positionthe operator drapes a piece of leather over the clamping member 62, asindicated in Fig. 2 of the drawings. 11e then waits until the clampingmember 82 is closed against the table 80. The means for causing thisclosing of the clamping member comprises the following parts in theillustrated machine. lteferring to Figs. 16 to 17 inclusive, it will beobse 1ved that there is provided on each side of the frame of themachine a cam plate one of which is shown at 116 projecting downwardlyfrom above the lower flanges l5 to present inclined cam faces 118 forengagement with the rollers 106 on each side of the table 80. Securedthe frame of the machine below each cam member 116 is a cam member 120having a stop surface 122 for engagement with one of the rollers 106 toeffect a reversing movement of the link 96. Upon inspection of Fig. 16,it will be observed that the link member 96 is in alinement with the armS6 of the clamp 62 antL on the same side of its pivot point 98. As thechains 22 and work support 20 continue to move toward the right in Fig.13 the roller 106 rides downwardly along the cam surface 118, thusdrawing inwardly the arms 86 of the clamping member 82. See also Fig.le. Finally the roller 106 rides off the point of the cam member 116 andis engaged by the stop surface 122 on the member 120, as indicated inFig. 15 of the drawings. Continuance of the movement of the chains 22and work support 20 results in turning the link 96 about its pivot 98through a little over 180, thus pulling the arms 88 toward the lett andbringing the clamping member 82 into firm contact with the ielt coveredend of the table 80. As before stated, the link 96 swings a littlebeyond its position of alinenient with the arm 88 into Contact with astop 108 on the table 8O so that it may be held by the spring in stableposition. It will be observed that the clamp member 82 is thus moved byan unyielding toggle means into clamping relation with respect to thetable 80. It is for this reason that the adjacent surfaces of theclamping member 82 and ot the table 8O are provided with the strips otfelt 841-, that is, so that the leather may be yieldingly engaged toprevent injury thereon This closing of the clamping member 82 talresplace just as the worlr support 2O is coming around the iront end of themachine, as indicated in Fig. 17 and in Fig. 3. As soon as the clampinghas taken place t e operator throws the portion i (Fig. 2) of the pieceof leather over in extended relation on the upper surface oi"- the table8O (Fig. 8) and then immediately follows this by Jolding the p0rtion Baround the clamp member 82 and throwing it on top of the portion A el).is the chains 22 continue in motion the worl: support 2O gradually turnsover as indicated in Figs. l and 5 in which position of the work suppe tthe parts A and l5 ci' the w rk are hanging down on each side of theclamping member 82 (Fig. This is the initial position of the work whenthe work support reaches the boarding member 50 (Fig. 6). ln otherwords, the surface 86 ot the member 82 is a work supportin surface uponwhich the work is initially positioned. v

rl`he graining operation will be readily understood upon reference to Gand of the drawings, Fig. 5 showing tl e beginning oi the operation e r'f boarding member 50 iL upon the convex sur k member 82. Since thesurface oi the clam iing` member is polished and smooth, and

surface ci the boarding memher 50 is a triction surface provided by corkor other like sub nre. fil be readily understood that the ther ely i lalong the itl' SL i al@ rolde( in tl iiv port, `he premi the resull` ofproduc'.

the grain surface which is on the nside oi" the fold; Since the boardimember 50 is rotating in a counterclocf. yise direction the same speedas the work support 20, moving i g effect upon to the left in Fig. 7,the travelling told 89 in the leather occupies always the same relativeposition with respect to the plane 87 which passes through the axis 52of the boarding member 50 and perpendicularly to the surface ot the worksupport 20. lvlhile the graining operation is initiated throughcooperation of the members 5() and 82, it is completed by co-operationot' members 50 and 80, as will be evident from an inspection of F ig. 7.`When approximately one-halt of the piece of leather has thus beenoperated upon, it is removed :trom the machine by an assistant. upon theopening of the clamping membei' 82 at the discharge position at the backet' he macnine, and subsequently reintroduced into the machine with theother part positioned over the clamping member 82 so that this secondportion receives the graining on the second passage of the worlr throughthe machine. lt it is desired, tor instance, to perform a boxingoperation upon the leather to produce what is known as boi; calf, theleather is sent through the machine after the graini ig operation withthe leather folded over the clamping member 82 in such manner that helines ot' the graiiiing extend subs-an ally at a right angle to thelength of il o clamping member 82. rl`his second grainthereifore,produces a grain along lines t rie'lit angles to the first graining andthe result termed a boxing of the grain surface of the leather.

Having described my invention, what l claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Pat-ent of thc United States is l. A machine for boardingleather having, in combination, a support for a piece of leathercomprising members relatively movable to clamp and hold a piece ofleather on the support, said support having a plane sur- :tace forsupporting a piece of leather, and a boarding member, the support andthe boarding member being relatively movable with respect to each otherand said support having a surface upon which the piece of leather isinitially positioned, the last-mentioned surface being inclined to theplane surface oi the wor; support and being constructed and arranged toco-operate with the boarding member in engaging directly oppositeportions of the piece of leather to initiate a boarding operation, andthe said plane surface being constructed and arranged to back the workagainst the thrust ot the boarding member during relative movementbetween the support and the boarding member for completing the boardingoperation.

2. A machine for boarding leather having, in combination, a support fora piece of leather comprising members relatively movable to clamp andhold the leather on the support, a boarding member, and means forefecting relative movement between the boarding member and the support,the support having a plane surface and a surface inclined to the planesurface, the inclined `surface being arranged to back a piece of leatheragainst the thrust of the boarding member to initiate a boardingoperation, the plane surface being also arranged to co-operate directlywith the boarding member to complete the boarding operation.

3. In a machine for boarding leather, a support for a piece of leatherhaving means for clamping a piece of leather on the support therebypreventing displacement thereof on the support., a member movable uponan axis and having a frictional boarding surface for co-operation withthe support to move one portion of a piece of leather relatively toanother portion of the same piece of leather to board the leather duringrelative movement between the member and the support, means for movingthe support in a direction the reverse of the movement of the boardingsurface of said movable boarding member and at a speed equal to that ofthe boarding surface to effect boarding of the piece of leather, andmeans for operating the clamping means in timed relation to the movementof the support.

et. In a machine for boarding leather, a boarding member, and a supportfor a piece of leather comprising two members movable relatively to eachother to clamp the piece of leather to the support, said support havinga relatively extensive work-supporting surface and a relativelyrestricted surface inclined to the first-mentioned surface and locatedadjacent to the line of clamping of the leather to the support, theinclined surface and the boarding member being arranged to engagemovably with directly opposite surfaces of a piece of leather andrelatively movable to initiate a folding of the piece of leatheradjacent to the line of clamp, whereby the traveling fold in the leatherbegins always at substantially the same place on the work support.

5. In a machine for boarding leather, a boar-dine' member, a support fora piece of leather comprising two members movable relatively to eachother to clamp the leather to the support, said support having a planesurface, and also a surface inclined to the plane surface and located inadvance of the line of clamp of the material to the support, saidboarding member being constructed and arranged to co-operate with theplane surface in boarding or graining operations and to press a pieceofleather directly .against the inclined surface, the boarding member andthe inclined surface being relatively movable to cause shifting of theleather on the inclined surface to initiate a fold in the piece ofleather at the line of clamp, and means for moving the support past theboarding member along a fined path whereby the boarding member and thesupport bear always the same predetermined relation to the fold in theleather in every boarding operation. i

6. In a machine for boarding leather, a boarding member, and a supporthaving a plane surface for co-operat-ion with the boarding member andcomprising two members movable relatively to each other to clamp a pieceof leather securely in place, yone of said members having a surfaceinclined to the plane surface and arranged for co-operation with theboarding member in movably engaging directly opposite `surfaces of apiece of leather, the boarding member and the inclined surface beingrelatively movabley to cause shifting of the leather on the inclinedsurface to initiate a folding of the piece of leather on itself, theboarding member subsequently (zo-operating with the plane surface on thesupport for completing the boarding operation.

7. In a machine for boarding leather, a rotary boarding member, asupport relatively movable with respect to the boarding member, saidsupport having a plane surface for cooperation with the boarding memberand comprising two members relatively movable with respect to eachotherto clamp a piece of work to the support, one of said members having asurface inclined to the plane surface and located adjacent to the lineof clamp of the piece of leather, said rotary boarding member beingarranged to co-operate first with the inclined surface in movablyengaging directly opposite surfaces of a piece of leather, the boardingmember and the inclined surface being relatively movable to causeshifting of the leather on the inclined surface to initiate a folding ofthe leather, the boarding member subsequently operating to press theleather against said plane surface during relative movement between therotary member and the plane surface to com* plete the boarding operationby causing the fold in the leather to travel across the surface of thesupport.

8. In a machine for boarding leather, arotary boarding member stationaryin space, and a support movable past the boarding member during boardingoperations and having a plane surface and 'a surface inclined to theplane surface, said work support comprising means for clamping a pieceof leather to the support, and said rotary boarding member beingarranged to press a portion of the leather directly against the inclinedsurface of the support to move a portion of the leather over theinclined surface and thus initiate folding of the piece of leather, saidboarding member then co-operating with the plane surface of the supportas the latter moves past to press the leather against the plane movingsurface to cause the fold t0 travel along said plane surface to completethe boarding of the leather.

9, In a machine for boarding leather, a

support for a piece of leather, said support comprising a clampingmember for holding the piece of leather on the support, a boardingmember for co-operation with the support to cause a fold in the leatherto travel along that portion of the leather resting on the support toboard the leather during relative movement between the member and thesupport, means for moving both the boarding member 'and the support tocause their work contacting surfaces to move in opposite directions andat the same speed to effect a boarding operation, and means controlledby the moving support for operating the clamping member betweenoperative and inoperative positions with respect to the support.

10. In a machine for boarding leather, a support for 'a piece ofleather, said support comprising a clamping member for holding the pieceof leather on the support, a rotary member for co-operation with thesupport to cause a fold in the leather to travel along that portion ofthe leather resting on the support to Vboard the leather during`relative movement between the member and the support, means for movingthe support and causing operation 0f the rotary member so that the workcontacting surfaces of the member and supportmove in opposite directionsand at the same speed to eil-ect a boarding operation, and stationarycams controlled by the moving support for operating the clamping memberbetween operative and inoperative positions with respect to the support.

11. In a machine for boarding leather, a support for a piece of leather,said support comprising a clamping member for temporarily securing apiece of leather to the support, means for moving the support andautomatically operating the clamping member to secure the leather to themoving support and subsequently to release the leather, and a memberhaving a uniform frictional surface, said surface being arranged totravel at the same speed as the support but in the reverse direction toboard the leather supported thereon.

12. In a machine for boarding leather, a support for a piece of leather,said support comprising a clamping member for temporarily securing apiece of leather to the support, means for automatically operating theclamping member to secure the leather to the support in timed relationto the movement of the support and subsequently to release the leather,means for moving the support, and a member having a. frictional surfacearranged to co-operate directly with work supporting surfaces of theclamping member and of the support during movement of the latter pastthe member to cause a fold in the leather to travel along that portionof the leather resting on the supportl to board the leather on thesupport.

13. In a machine for boarding leather, a support for a piece ofleather', said support comprising a clamping member for temporarilysecuring the leather to the support, said clamping member having asurface for supporting a portion of the piece of leather, a memberhaving a frictional surface for cooperation with work supportingsurfaces of the clamping member and of the support to move a. fold inthe leather along over the snpport for boarding the leather, means forcausing movement of the frictional surface of the boarding member andsimultaneously therewith movement of the work support and its associatedclamping member in the opposite direction with respectto the boardingmembe surface and at the same speed whereby boarding of the leathertaires place, and means for operating the clamping member in timedrelation to the movement of the work support.

14. In a machine for boarding leather, a support for a piece of leathercomprising a clamping member slidably mounted on the support formovement in one direction tem porarilyto clamp apiece of leather theretoand slidable in the opposite direction for releasing the piece ofleather, means for moving the support and the clamping member, a memberfor co-operation with the support during movement of the latter forcausing boarding of the leather, and cam means rendered opera tive bythe moving` work support for opening and for closing the clamping memberalternately to clamp and release the leather.

l5. In a machine for boarding leather, a support for a piece of leathercomprising a clamping member for temporarily securing the leather to thesupport, positively operated means comprising a toggle for closing theclamping member on the leather, means comprising a saring for moving theclamping member to releasing position, and a member having a frictionalboarding surface arranged to co-operate with the work support duringrelative movement of the member and work support to cause boarding ofthe leather carried by the latter.

16. In a machine for boarding leather, a support for a piece of leathercomprising al clamping member for temporarily securing the leather tothe support, means comprising a toggle for moving the clamping member toclamping position, and a member having a frictional surface arranged to(3o-operate with the work support during relative movement of the memberand work support to cause boarding of the leather carried by thesupport.

l?. In a machine for boarding leather, a plurality of supports, eachadapted to support a piece of leather, a member having a uniformfrictional surface for contacting with a piece of Work and arranged forcooperation with the supports in succession for boarding the leather,means for moving the CTI supports past said member, means for supportingand guiding the supports during their passage past said member', andmeans for causing movement of the frictional surface in a direction thereverse of that of the movement of the supports and at the same speed.

18. In a machine for boarding leather, a plurality of supports, eachhaving aclamping member adapted to support a piece of leather and toclamp it to the support, a member havino' a frictional surface forcontacting with a piece of Work and supported so as to be stationary inspace for co-operation with the supports as they move in succession pastsaid member, the frictional surface on the member being arranged topress a fold in a piece of Work against a Work support and by itsfrictional contact to cause the fold to travel along each support inturn for effecting boarding of the leather, means for moving thesupports and their clamping members pastl said member, and means forsupporting and guiding the supports While each in turn is co-operatingWith said member.

19. ln a machine for boarding leather, a plurality of supports, eachhaving a clamping member provided With a Work supporting surface andoperative to clamp a piece of Work to the support, a member having africtional surface for contacting With a piece of Work and arranged forengagement with pieces of Work backed by the Work supporting surfaces ofthe clamping members and by the supports in succession for boarding theleather, means for moving the supports with their clamping members pastsaid member, and means for supporting and guiding the supports duringtheir passage past said member, said member being mounted to projectinto the path of each clamping member and support and to move yieldinglyaway from the plane of the clamping member and support.

20. ln a machine for boarding leather, a plurality of supports forpieces of leather, a rotar;7 member having a uniform frictional surfacefor contacting Wit-h a piece of leather and arranged for co-operationwith each support in succession to operate upon the leather on thesupports, means for rotatinfr the member, and means for movin(y eachsupport past the member in a direction opposed to the direction ofrotary movement of the member, and at the same speed, the frictionalsurface being` arranged to press the l-eather against ie support and tocause it to move along over the support during movements of the supportand member.

21. ln a machine for boarding leather, a plurality of Work supports forpieces of leather, a rotary member having a uniform frictional surfacefor contacting With a piece of leather and arranged for Vco-operationWith each support in succession, means for moving the supports past therotary member, and means for rotating the member, said means for movingthe supports and said rotating means having a common element arranged todrive the rotary member at a peripheral speed equivalent to the rate ofmovement of the work supports.

22. ln a machine for boarding leather, a plurality of supports forpieces of leather, a member having a uniform frictional surface arrangedto press a fold in ay piece of leat ier against a Work support to movethe fold over the Work supporting surface of each support in successionto board the leather on the supports, each support comprising clampingmember for temporarily securing the leather to the support, and meansoperating automatically to cause closing and opening of Jthe clampingmembers in succession in timed relation to the movement of the Worksupport to clamp and to release each piece of leather.

23. ln a machine for operating on leather, a plurality of supportsmoving in succession to work receiving position, each support comprisinga clamp for holding Work on the support, means for opening the clampbefore its associated support arrives at Work receiving position, amember having a uniform frictional surface operative to press a fold ina piece of Work against a Work support to cause the fold to travel overthe surface of each Work support in turn, and means arranged toco-operate with each Work support in turn to close the clamp prior tothe operation of the boarding member.

24. ln a machine for boarding leather', a boarding member having auniform frictional surface for contacting With a'piece of Work, asupport movable to present piece of Work to the boarding member for aboarding operation, said support comprising tivo members relativelymovable with respect to each other to clamp the piece of leather to thesupportprior to the boarding operation, and means for causing clampingof the piece of Work in timec relation to the movement of the support,said boarding member with its frictional surface beine' arranged topress a fold in the piece of Work against the support to move the foldover the surface of the support to effect boarding of the leather'.

ln a machine for boarding leather, a -Work support movable between Workreceiving and Work presenting positions, said Work support comprising aclamping member operative to secure a piece of Work temiviorarily to thesupport, a member having a uniform frictional surface to press upon thepiece of Work backed by the Work support while the latter is in Workpresenting position, and means for opening and closing the clampingmember in timed relation to the movements of the Work support.

26. ln a machine for boarding leather, a

boarding` member having a frietional surface for contacting With a pieceof Work, a support for the uorl: movable between ivorir receivingposition and Work presenting position with respect to the boardingmember, said n'oi'l; supp rt comprising a clamping men'iber operative toclamp a piece of Work temporarily on the support, said boarding memberand support being relatively movable to eii'ect a boarding' operation onthe piece of Work miped to the support, means for return movable supportto initial Work position, and a stationary ,5 on the clamping' member to'z open position ourine' moveeration.

Q7. ln a machine for boarding leather, a boarding member having a uniforn frictional surface for contactin with a piece of Work, a supportmovable in a path past the boarding member to present a piece of Work tothe boarding member for a boarding operation, said support comprisingtwo members relatively movable with respect to each other to clamp thepiece of ivorl; to the support prior to the boarding operation, and cammeans render-ed effective by he moving support for causing clamping andunclamping of the piece of Worlr on the support in timed relation to themovement of the support, said boarding member being movable relativelyto the support and through its frictional surface co-operating with thesupport to effect boarding of the Work during said relative movement.

28, in a machine for boarding leather, a boarding member having a ui'form frictional surface for contacting 'with a piece of Worlr, asupport movable in a straight path past the boarding member to present apiece i f Work to the boarding member for a boarding operation, saidvforlr support comprising a clampingl member operative to secur th pieceof Work temporarily7 to the support, and means automatically operativeto cause clamping' of the Work to the support before the support reachesthe boarding' member and unclamping of the piece of Work after the Worksupport leaves the boarding member, said boarding member through itsfrictional surface co-operating with the support to effect boarding ofthe Work While it is clamped to the support.

29. ln a machine for boarding leather, a worlr support movable betweenWork receiving' and Work presenting positions, said Work supportcomprisingl a clamping member having' a Work supporting surface and aclamping surface operative to secure a folded piece of Werl: temporarilyto the support, a tool co-operating with the work support While thelatter is in Worn presenting position for boarding' the piece of ivorlr,and means for causing relative movement between the Work support and thetool, the tool being arranged to press the folded Work against the Worksupporting surfaces of the clamping member and of the Work support andto prevent forward movement of a portion of the Work While anotherportion of the Work continues to move in the forward direction With theWork support, to cause graining of the piece of Work.

30. In a machine for boarding leather, a Work support movable betweenWork receivand Work presenting positions, said Work support comprising`a clamping member operative to secure piece of Work temporarily to thesupport, a tool having a uniform frictional surface arranged to move afold in a piece of Work along the Work support While the latter is inWork presenting position for boarding the piece of Work, and meanscomprising' a stationary cam for opening the clamping member while thesupport is moving to Work receiving position.

3l. In a machine for boarding leather, a boarding member having auniform frictional surface for contacting with a piece of Work, asupport for a piece of Work movable to present the Work to the boardingmember, said Work support comprising a clamping member having a Worksupporting surface and also a clamping surface for securing' a piece ofWork temporarily to the support, cams rendered effective by the movingsupport for operating the clamp to close and to open the same in timedrelation to the movements of the support, and means for causing relativemovement between the support and the boarding member to eect a boardingoperation on the piece of Work While it is backed by the support and bythe Work supporting surface of the clamping member.

82. In a machine for boarding leather, a boarding member, a plurality ofWork-supporting members, an endless chain arranged to move said membersin a given path, a support rigidly to back the Work supporting membersduring boarding operations in cooperation with the boarding member, saidboarding member and a given Work supporting` member being' operative toform a fold in a piece of Work, said boarding member being rotated onits axis to turn at a peripheral speed equivalent to the rate ofmovement of the Work supporting members whereby the boarding member anda co-operating Work-supporting member bear the same predeterminedrelation to the fold in the leather throughout a given boardingoperation.

33. In a machine for boarding leather, a boarding member, a plurality ofplane-surfaced members iiexibly joined together and arranged to mov-e inan endless path to serve as Work supports for co-operation with theboarding member in boarding operations on successive pieces of work,means for moving the work supports along an endless path, and means forcausing rotary movement of the boarding member in a direction thereverse of the movement of the work supports and at the same speed, theflexibly joined work supports being arranged to carry each piece of workpast the boarding member to a discharge station at the rear end of themachine, thus permitting the introduction of new pieces of work insuccession at the front of the machine.

34. In a boarding or graining machine, a boarding or graining memberhaving a frictional surface for contacting with a piece of work, saidboarding or graining member being stationary in space and an endlessseries of work supporting tables each adapted to receive a folded pieceof work at the front of the machine and to present it for removal at therear of the machine, means for moving the endless series of tables pastthe boarding or graining member, each table in turn cooperating with theboarding or graining member, the frictional surface of the latter beingarranged to press the folded Work against each table in turn and toprevent forward movement of a portion of the work while another portionof the work continues to move in the forward direction with the table tocause graining of the piece of work.

35. In a boarding or graining machine, a boarding or graining memberhaving a frictional surface for contacting with a piece of work, saidboarding or graining member being stationary in space and an endlesscarrier having a plurality of work supporting surfaces for co-operationwith the boarding or graining member, means for moving the endlesscarrier to cause the work supporting surfaces to pass the boarding orgraining member, the frictional surface being arranged to press the workagainst each work supporting surface in turn and to prevent forwardmovement of a portion of the work while the supporting surface andanother portion of the work continue in motion in the forward direction,whereby one portion of the work is caused to move upon another portion,said carrier moving constantly in one direction to receive work at thefront end of the machine and present it for discharge at the rear endthereof. Y

36. In a boarding or graining machine, a boarding or graining membermounted to rotate upon an axis and having a frictional surface forcontacting with a piece of work, an endless carrier having a pluralityof Worksupporting surfaces for co-operation with the boarding orgraining member, said endless carrier having its upper run moving alongin a substantially horizontal plane from front to rear of the machine,and means for moving the boarding or graining member about its axis tocause its frictional surface t0 move in

